1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to micrographics and in particular to an improved system and method for operating microimage recorders such as COM (computer output on microfilm) recorders. More particularly, the present invention is directed towards a duplicate film exposure and developing system for microimage recording apparatus wherein duplicate film records on rolls or microfiche cards are produced from the computer generated images provided on a continuous elongated master film strip. The duplication system of the present invention is capable of producing any selected number of duplicates from a single image area provided on a master film strip. Because enormous amounts of information and data is generated by computers and other sources, the need for convenient and economical systems for duplicating this data has increased rapidly in the last few years.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,123,157, 4,332,466, 4,382,675 and 4,501,487 disclose microimage recorders generally wherein image areas are exposed onto film and then transferred onto duplicate film cards or rolls. In general, the image generated by cathode ray tubes are exposed onto a master film which is subsequently developed and used for making duplicates therefrom.